6. MacArthur returned to the United States in 1925
While in the Philippines, MacArthur was promoted to Major General. At the age of 44, he was the youngest to hold that rank in the Army. The promotion meant a return to the United States and after a brief period in the South, he was assigned to command the III Corps, with headquarters at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. The MacArthurs moved into her family estate called Rainbow Hill. He retained his flamboyant streak, (one officer who had known his father said that the elder MacArthur was the most flamboyant man he’d ever met, until he met the son), lived in luxury on his wife’s money, and participated in the court-martial of General Billy Mitchell, about whom he later claimed to vote to acquit. Mitchell was convicted.
In 1927, his wife left him, moving to New York, and MacArthur took temporary leave from the Army to head the US Olympic Committee for the 1928 Olympic Games. The Games gave him access to reporters and he willingly granted interviews, ensuring his name stayed prominently in public view. In 1929, he returned to the Philippines as commander of that department. While there he learned of his wife’s divorce; she cited as her reason for his lack of supporting her financially. She married and divorced twice more in her lifetime. MacArthur returned to the United States in 1930 and was elevated to the post of Chief of Staff, the highest rank in the Army. He was then 50 years old.